wnn@ornl.gov (Wolfgang N. Naegeli) (08/31/90)
There is much to be said for having <Command> as part of all the shortcuts that an application comes configured for by default. Apple really has done a lousy job by failing to stress early on the importance of consistency across applications and by having its Software Evangelists persue it vigorously, except for <Command-C>, <Command-X>, <Command-V> and a few others. This is one of the reasons, why I appreciate applications that make it easy for the user to (re)configure any and all shortcuts. With the richness in features that programs like Nisus offer, it becomes even more important that users have absolute freedom. I don't like the restriction of having to have any particular key be part of a shortcut. The user should be able to configure shortcuts for the use of any or all of the modifier keys. The multi-letter shortcut is a terrific idea. I also believe that any good Mac program should have an option for saving preferences to a file. The preferences dialog should have a pop-up menu to which one could add these preferences files, and there must be a DEFAULT choice on that menu. That way, it would be very easy for the application to be reset to the original conditions, e.g. for a new user to run the tutorial. A Mac serving more than one user could be very quickly customized for the present user, and I might even have two or three different configurations that are ideally suited for specific kinds of tasks. A check box in the dialog to "Remember settings when Quitting" would also add a nice touch. Apple should include something like that in the User Interface guidelines. I hope they will include a system-wide facility of that sort in a future release of the System software. It would be great if I could carry a floppy with my personal preferences file around, stick it in any Mac, pull down the Special menu in the Finder, select "Preferences ...", click "Open Preferences File ..." and have the Finder "LAYO" resource and all the applications configured to my personal preferences. A facility for listing, printing, and editing key assignments for universal and application specific functions would help me to remember less frequently used shorcuts and to make them consistent across applications. If I could optionally add a short note or help message for each of them, that would be the icing on the cake. User friendliness means many things. Ease of learning is one. Efficiency for the power user is another. Both contribute to increased productivity. They might look very different at first glance, but an intelligent interface design can take care of multiple needs. Ease of configuration and consistency are key words. System facilities like the one I have sketched above can give Apple an edge in the nineties. Wolfgang N. Naegeli Internet: wnn@ornl.gov Bitnet: wnn@ornlstc Phone: 615-574-6143 Fax: 615-574-6141 QuickMail (QM-QM): Wolfgang Naegeli @ 615-574-4510 Snail: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6206